


Undercover and Underdressed

by JefferyHeyJeffery



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blow Jobs, Drugs, Explicit Consent, Fluff and Smut, Lapdance, M/M, Pacifist Good Ending, Post-Canon, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Undercover As Prostitute, Wire Play, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-06-08 05:12:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15236094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JefferyHeyJeffery/pseuds/JefferyHeyJeffery
Summary: As more and more civilians in Detroit die because of red ice, Gavin Reed finds what appears to be the epicenter of the whole operation. Can our asshole detective and his sassy robot partner find a way to stop this tragedy?





	1. Kinky Boots

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [Undercover and Underdressed](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15712110) by [MiaMiMia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiaMiMia/pseuds/MiaMiMia)



> Btw I call RK900 "Nines" ... I think it's an absolutely adorable name for the big guy <3

Gavin Reed stared at his exactly way too bright computer screen, looking at more reports of idiots overdosing on red ice. Sure, as an avid smoker and fairly consistent drinker, he could understand self destructive behavior. But red ice? That shit was made with android blood and hydrochloric acid. 

He wrinkled his nose in disgust. It was nasty as fuck, that was sure. People in slums were dying from heart attacks and strokes and seizures and even straight up brain failure. More and more suicides happened in Detroit now, the drug causing enough irrational thought to make jumping off a bridge seem like a good choice. 

Gavin sighed and leaned back in his chair. He loved his job, sure, but right now everything seems so pointless. Despite the DPD’s best efforts there hasn’t been any sort of decline in red ice production or consumption. If anything, there’s been a significant increase. The android rebellion played hell on the city and drug dealers seemed to thrive in the turmoil. Fucking cockroaches. 

He twisted around in his chair, looking for his partner. Nines was a piece of shit, but at least he made some damn good coffee. Unfortunately, the android wasn’t at his desk, or anywhere in sight for that matter. Gavin huffed, disgruntled. He guessed he would just have to wait for the tin can to come back to get his fix of caffeine. 

Turning his attention back to the computer, Gavin briefly rubbed his eyes and tried to piece together what the users had in common, besides the obvious low income and unemployed factor. The majority were male, ranging from early twenties to late forties- the age cap was mostly due to users not living very long after starting. 

He took another closer look at the locations where users died. His eyebrows scrunched together as he noticed something odd. Something dumb that he must have overlooked before…

He jumped slightly as a coffee cup was placed in front of him. He looked up at Nines who loomed over him with his stupidly large frame, the android was as stoic as ever as he looked at what Gavin was reading. 

Nines stepped back and crossed his arms across his chest. The action making his synthetic deltoids and biceps more pronounced under his thick jacket. But Gavin didn’t notice that, not at all, why would he think a tin can was sexy? That’s ridiculous. Shut up. 

The android shifted his gaze towards Gavin, one perfect eyebrow arched above his cold gray eyes, “Have you found anything new?” 

Gavin’s lips curled up into a signature cocky smirk, “Yeah, I think I just did.” He stood from his desk and walked up to a map hanging on a nearby wall. He pointed to the areas where the deceased had been found. “What do these places have in common?” 

Nines shifted unnecessarily on his feet then shrugged slightly, “They’re all slums?”

Gavin rolled his eyes, smile still tugging at his lips. It felt good to be one step of the bucket of bolts for once in his goddamn life. “Okay, yes. But what else? Check this out.” 

Gavin grabbed a red sharpie and drew a small dot on the map. “You know where this is?”

Nines’ LED flickered to yellow briefly as he looked up the area. His eyes widened slightly, “The Eden Club.”

Gavin’s smile grew, “Exactly! All lot of these deaths, they are all less than a mile away from this club.” He tapped excitedly at the map, “This is the epicenter! It’s our lead. The androids who work there may be either forced to give up thirium or they give it willingly. This place could be a hotbed for all sorts of criminal activity, besides the prostitution- obviously. They still don’t have cameras anywhere… fuck, why didn’t we think of this sooner?” 

Nines had a corner of his mouth quirked up, he was pleased and Gavin couldn’t help but soak that in. “Nice work, detective.” 

-

The pair showed the new information to Captain Fowler. The man stared at the map by his desk, eyes shifting back and forth, from location to location, as if checking the validity of the claim. He nodded slightly, hand lightly drumming against the handle of his desk chair. 

Fowler looked at Gavin, the old man’s usual scowl was still plastered on his face but somehow it seemed more accepting, oddly warmer. “I think you have something here, boys.”

“Thank you, sir-” Nines started, only to be waived off by Fowler. 

“Look, this may be something, but we need to be careful about this. If dealers are at The Eden Club then we don’t want to show up with badges and scare them away. Gavin, RK900, I want you both undercover for this.” 

Gavin sneered, “You want me to hang out with fuck bots all day?” 

The Captain’s look at Gavin hardened once again, all the softness replaced with a barely tolerated annoyance. “I want you to find these criminals and do what you need to in order to take them down. If that sounds like too much then I will reassign the case. Is that clear?” 

“Yes, sir.” Gavin grumbled, choosing to look at the floor rather than fully glare at his boss.

“What was that, Reed?”

Stupid fucking Fowler. Stupid fucking dumbass power trip.

Gavin raised his voice and looked up this time. He tried- and failed- to keep the venom out of his words. “I said, yes, sir.”

Fowler harrumphed, “Reed, you are excused. RK900, stay here.” 

Gavin noticed the small eye roll from the android. “It’s Nines.” His voice was loud enough to be easily heard, but it definitely could have been categorized as a mutter. 

The detective couldn’t help but smirk. 

Fowler pursed his lips, “What?” Yeah, the man was completely pissed and Gavin had to hide his widening grin behind a hand. 

The android straightened his tie in one perfect and fluid motion, “I have a name, it’s Nines. I would prefer to be called that instead of by my model number.” 

The Captain hissed through his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Nines, then, you stay here. Reed, I thought I told you to get the hell out of my office.” 

Gavin shrugged nonconfrontationaly then went back to his desk. He occasionally looked up into Fowler’s glass office to see what was going on with Nines. The Captain stayed in his seat the whole time, so Gavin took that as a good thing. Fowler had gotten up in Gavin’s face enough times for the detective to take that as a sign that the boss was exceptionally pissed off. He thought about it for a second and figured that the tin can probably wouldn’t push too many buttons, wouldn’t find a logical reason or some shit like that. 

Androids are weird. 

Gavin shrugged lightly to himself then turned towards his computer once more. He noticed the coffee, now gone cold. Whatever, caffeine is caffeine. He took a tentative sip.

… Holy fuck, Nines made some good coffee. 

-

A few minutes later the android came out of Fowler’s office. He walked up to Gavin’s desk, “I start the undercover operation effective immediately. The Captain said you start later tonight.” 

Gavin groaned, “Overtime? Great.” 

Nines crookedly smirked, “Worried that you won’t be able to stay awake without me spoon feeding you coffee?” 

Gavin flipped him off. “See you later, tin can.”

Nines walked away, holding a peace sign above his shoulder, “Later, meat sack.”

Gavin couldn’t believe what a sass the plastic cop was. 

-

Gavin couldn’t believe how much he missed the plastic cop.

Not that Gavin would ever admit that to himself. 

Hours later Gavin shuffled through paperwork for like the fifth time in ten minutes. Half of it was done and he’d be damned if he was gonna do more than that. It was so boring he even thought about spinning around in his swivel chair. That was unprofessional and he knew it but he felt like he was dying. 

Everyone was doing something, it felt like. Even Hank and Connor were off in the field investigating something that had to be more interesting then fucking paperwork. 

He missed having Nines around to bother with ancient memes and cat videos. After a lot of experimentation, Gavin learned that the androids favorite was the cute cat compilations. He was a bit surprised that the android has such a soft spot for the fur balls, but hey, if it got him out of work for five minutes then he could consider it a win. 

For a split second he thought about watching some videos to pass the time, but he would probably fall asleep watching them by himself. They were really only fun with Nines. Sometimes the android would try really hard to stifle coos of adoration for the kittens, he would fail but Gavin figured it was the attempt that mattered- the attempt was also way more fucking adorable than any kitten. 

Gavin yawned loudly. God damn, he was tired. 

He huffed and stood up from his desk, stretching his arms above his head to pop his back. Gavin made his way into the breakroom and made himself a cup of coffee.

One sip in and it tasted like shit. 

“Yeah, fuck this.” 

-

Gavin really didn’t like clubs like Eden. They were pathetic. People who couldn’t find someone to fuck went to places like these to get their dicks wet. The law couldn’t do anything about it because androids weren’t human. 

Even now, after the revolution, androids don’t have the proper care from the government that they deserved. Sure, before getting paired up with Nines, Gavin would have found the mere concept of android rights to be ridiculous. He was on the wrong side of history when the revolution was happening. He was a douche. Whatever, that was the past. 

People change. 

Now this sex trafficking thing just pissed him off. The androids were being bought for the night dirt cheap and Gavin had a feeling that their commision- or whatever politically correct term was used for sex bots- was stiflingly small. 

Gavin took a deep breath and left his car. It was raining, because when in this city was it not fucking raining? He walked towards the club, pools of rain water reflecting the obnoxious pink glow of the club lights. Even from twenty feet he could hear the heavy bass filled music. Could feel it in the soles of his feet. 

Pushing through the front doors, everything felt too hot. Even though he was wearing an old Maverick t-shirt, showing off large serpentine tattoos on his arms that he hoped would distract someone enough to keep from recognizing him by the tell tale scar on the bridge of his nose. 

It was humid in here. Everything smelt like a sick mix of bleach and febreze. The loud EDM music drilled into his head and he felt like he couldn’t even hear himself think. 

Several sleaze bags roamed around the club, wolfishly eying girls and guys posing behind walls of glass. Gavin sighed and wondered how the hell he was supposed to find a dealer here when everyone pointedly refused to look at anyone else. If he went up to someone asking for drugs it would definitely be a red flag. 

He went deeper into the club, passing by androids that he couldn’t help feel bad for. They were trying to make ends meet but there had to be a better way. It just… it was wrong for anyone to need to sell their body like this. To the lowest bidder. To whoever. 

He entered what appeared to be another main section of the club, only just barely partitioned from the entrance. Here there were more dancers. Larger boxes. Poles placed in the glass rooms. 

Lots of the same type of models here, many were probably doing this before the revolution and just decided to stick with it. But there were also those he never remembered seeing when he investigated that dead Traci. 

A man with pale blue eyes and bleach blonde hair. 

A girl with dark skin, emerald green eyes, and long ebony hair. 

Another guy was pole dancing in his little glass cage. He seemed big, compared to the other models. His dark brunette hair fell into his steel gray eyes, complementing his pale complection. Arms flexing as he spun himself around on the pole, a sexy and impressive display of strength and dexterity-

Wait.

Wait a fucking second.

That little fucking quaf in his hair? The tiny imperfectly perfect strand falling into his face? The fucking gray eyes? 

Either this was Nines or this was another RK900 that got stuck working in this shit show. Whatever, Gavin had questions. 

Some asshole also seemed interested in the android, about to purchase him by the looks of it, but Gavin shoved past the big guy roughly. The man huffed angrily and laid a meaty hand on Gavin’s shoulder, “This one’s mine. Fuck off and get your own toy.” 

Gavin swatted the hand off of him and bought the android without another word or glance at the man.

The glass doors opened and the RK900 stepped out, a pleasant look on his face, “It’s a pleasure to meet you-”

Gavin dragged the android into the closest vacant room. The man looked shocked for all of a second then he started power walking, “Hey! Wait a fucking second-”

Gavin slammed the door in the douches face and locked it.

The androids face was contorted into a familiar scowl, “What the fuck, Gavin?” 

Yup, this was Nines. And Nines was in fucking four-inch thigh high heels. Because of course he just had to a whole fucking two heads taller than any normal goddamned person.. 

He had short shorts on, and they were spandex which looked really fucking good on Nines and his butt, because why not? Because the world hates Gavin and it doesn’t care if he gets awkward boners on the job. 

He sat down on the bed and slouched, because the last thing he needed was for the pompous tin can to see the effect this little outfit had on him. 

So it was just the shorts and the dumb heels and not much else aside from cufflinks and a little bow tie. 

Nines kept on glaring at Gavin like this whole situation was totally normal. Like he was dressed in his suit and not in one square foot of cloth. “The man who was about to rent me was an obvious user of red ice! Had you not swooped in like an idiot, I could have gotten proper information from him!” 

That… that didn’t sit well with Gavin. He looked up at the android and narrowed his eyes, brows furrowing, “So what, you would have just let him fuck you and then get some info from him? Jesus Christ, Nines.” 

Nines placed his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out, pecs obnoxiously hot when flexed. Gavin kept trying not to think about that, but so far he was failing desperately. Nines huffed, “I was planning on doing what's necessary to get more details for the case. If the situation could have been solved nonviolently, then that would be the best option. What you just did was uncalled for and irrational. It wouldn’t be good to have my cover blown so quickly.” 

Gavin couldn’t believe what the android was saying, the thought that his partner was so quick…. So unwaveringly ready to just sell his body… “Jesus fuck! This isn’t just about getting information, Nines!”

“Then what is it about? Enlighten me, detective.” The last part was cold and venomous, Nines was angry. Gavin was pretty pissed too. This android, with all of his muscles and eloquent voice, didn't seem like he knew the first fucking thing about sex, or, at least, the implications of it.

“Look, Nines, I don’t know what the fuck you do in your spare time, but as far as I know you… you’re still a god damned virgin, right? You can’t just go around selling that shit, okay? You’re like a mini tank in a ninjas body, surely your time on the force can be spent doing…. Doing something better than this!” He gestured at Nines’ outfit and the room around them. 

Nines gave Gavin a terribly forced smile, a dark and knowing and twisted thing that made Gavin want to squirm in his seat. The android arched a brow, “Isn’t it a little hypocritical for you of all people to be lecturing me about virtue right now?” His pale eyes looked down at Gavin’s crotch then back up. A small gesture but enough to made the detective remember how he has never been nearly as discrete as he thinks he is. 

Gavin ran a hand down his face, letting out a frustrated groan, “This isn’t about my body being fucking stupid, this is about you. Okay? Are you honestly fine with sleeping around with creepy guys for information? If so, fucking fine. Why the fuck should I care? If you want to learn one or two things over the cost of your dignity, then go the fuck ahead.” 

“You’re sitting here, telling me that I should feel ashamed for wanting to accomplish my mission? Is that it? You know what? Fuck you, Reed. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to help solve this case. I suggest you do the same.” 

He turned on a heel and marched towards the door.

“Nines, wait!” Gavin called out, but the android didn’t even look back.

Gavin felt like his heart was about to pound out of his chest or quit all together. 

He was worried. He could barely even admit it himself, but he was so fucking worried for this android who managed to know so much and nothing at all. 

There were so many variables for these androids at Eden. So many ends where the fates were pitted against the newly freed people. 

And Gavin knew that this was a farce. That what Nines was doing here would never be permanent. But he just couldn’t help the mounting fear in his chest.

He read the reports that were all to often overlooked. Androids broken and ripped apart during hate crimes, or from some serial killer targeting them. Fuck, when that happened, humans often tend to be relieved that the victim’s blood was blue. As if it might actually be worthy of a tragedy if it were red. 

If it didn’t just vanish after a few short hours.

Out of sight, out of mind. So many androids lost to statistics, fallen in the cracks of the system. Lost forever. 

It twisted Gavin’s guts to think that somewhere, to someone, Nines was just another RK900. Just another android to use for whatever and then thrown away after. 

Gavin rushed up to Nines, embarrassment be damned. He grabbed the androids wrist tightly, not wanting him to go out there. 

Not wanting him to be used. Not wanting him to be out of sight, where Gavin wouldn’t be able to protect him. Not wanting him to get hurt. 

At this point, Gavin could feel his hand trembling from the force of words better left unspoken. From the guilt of always fucking things up, ruining any relationship he’s ever had by lighting a blazing fire of fury and pain to the bridges. 

Gavin fucking hated himself most days. But now, knowing that Nines, the closest thing he’s had to a friend in years… the thought might just start to hate him too made everything was so much worse. He bowed his head slightly because he could feel pricks of tears sting at his eyes and there was no way in hell he would let anyone see him cry. Not today, not ever. 

“I’m fucking worried about you, Nines… I- I don’t want to lose you.” 

He could feel Nines’ arm tense at the words. 

Gavin glanced up at Nines. The android’s LED rotated a solid yellow, his eyebrows lowered, lips sealed shut with blatant confusion. Nines tilted his head, “What was that?”

“You heard me.” Gavin’s voice was no more than a harsh whisper. As if, had he decided to raise his voice more than that, he would break himself apart. 

Nines opened his mouth then shut it. Soft yellow light casting deep shadows across his sharp cheeks and jawline. His hesitancy was an anomaly, he was a super computer, able to run so many programs at once. He shouldn’t need to stall. Need time to think when he had all the time in the world in his head. 

And yet here they were, eyes locked. Slight worry lining their faces, mirroring one another. 

“Gavin,” Nines’ voice was lowered, dropping it several octaves. The vibrato rumbling in Gavin’s chest, butterflies fluttering despite his best efforts to keep those sorts of feelings out of this. “I don’t-”

“He’s in there.” Gavin easily recognized the gruff masculine voice that came from just outside the room. There was the sound of keys jingling at the door. 

Gavin’s eyes widened, “Fuck…”

Nines pushed him backwards, guiding him towards the bed rather than shoving him towards it. “We can’t afford to be caught. Not so early into our investigation. Do you understand what I’m saying?” His voice was hushed, mouth just inches from Gavin’s ear, artificial breath ghosting over his skin.

The detective could do nothing more than nod mutely at his partner as Nines nudged him on the bed. The android put his legs on either side of Gavin’s hips, straddling him. 

Gavin thought he was about to have a heart attack as Nines brought his lips up to gently kiss and bite the side of Gavin’s neck. As Nines ground his ass down Gavin’s dick, the detective didn’t even try to stifle his groan, “Where the fuck did you learn shit like this?”

The android smiled, this time it was genuine and confident and beautiful- if not a little bit evil- “I’ve downloaded several new programs for this mission.” 

Gavin was about to ask what else the android decided to download but that thought was quickly derailed as Nines crushed his lips to the detective’s. 

So many things that Nines did were perfect. His aim, his coffee brewing skills. 

But this kiss was sloppy, too much teeth and he didn’t quite manage to tip his head enough so Gavin’s nose was being uncomfortably squished. Unlike most things the android did, this wasn’t cold or analytical. Gavin could feel Nines arch his back, chest pressing up against Gavins, faux breaths gradually becoming more like needy whines in the pack of his throat. 

Gavin had one hand placed at the top of the androids neck, fingers twisting and twirling into his silken dark hair. His other hand was on Nines’ butt, massaging and squeezing the oddly pliable synthetic skin and muscle. 

Later he would probably ask himself what the fuck he was doing. Getting a lap dance from his partner. Letting the android shove his tongue down his throat. Heart pounding, breaths ragged, dick harder than it had ever been in his entire fucking life. 

But right now he could only think about Nines and his beautiful gray eyes, half lidded, pupils blown wide. Cheeks flushed an otherworldly purple. 

The door opened with a slam. 

Oh yeah, the mission. 

Nines broke the kiss first, twisting his head to see the door. His body tense, prepared to leap into action at any moment. 

The man from earlier, the guy who was checking out Nines, stood in the doorway. Now that Gavin wasn’t in a panicked rush to get Nines, he could get a good look on this guy. Early thirties, around six feet tall, stocky build bordering on fat, hair a light dishwater blonde with pockmarked skin and an unevenly shaven and sparse beard. His eyes were watery, red and a little puffy, his nose running slightly making his upper lip wet with mucus. Obviously high as a kite, probably on red ice. Definitely on red ice.

Behind him stood a nervous looking janitorial android who held a pair of keys in one shaky hand. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere else at that moment, LED flickering from bright yellow to red at random intervals. 

“S-sir,” She spoke up, voice timid and hesitant, “It’s as I told you, this room is occupied, you can’t just-”

“I can’t what, bitch?” The man snarled. “You know I’m a part owner of Eden. I can do whatever the fuck I want. I fucking own you.” He shoved a finger into her chest, pushing her into the doorframe. She said nothing, blue eyes wide, locked on the floor. 

He marched towards the bed and roughly grabbed Nines’ chin, forcing the android to stand up. Twisting his head this way and that, taking stock, placing a value on him. The thought made Gavin see red. 

The only thing that managed to keep the detective from decking the guy right then and there was Nines’ LED. It was a pale blue. So long as Nines was fine then Gavin would sit still and try not to blow the mission before it even started. 

The man lasciviously smiled up at Nines, “When did we hire you, cupcake? I feel like I would have remembered the interview.” 

Nines chuckled, “I’m sure you would have, you look like you are nothing if not… thorough.” The android smiled brightly at the man, one eyebrow cocked playfully. 

“That I am. What do you say? Kick this fucker out of the room and we have our own little meeting?” His fat fucking fingers brushed across Nines’ lips, “You have a real pretty mouth. I bet we could make it prettier wrapped around my cock.”

That was it. Gavin stood, “Look, buddy, I paid for thirty minutes. I plan on getting every second of that.” 

The man rolled his eyes, “Read between the lines, dumbass. Get the fuck out of here.” 

Gavin petulantly crossed his arms. “I said, I paid for thirty minutes-”

The man punched him square in the face. Gavin felt the crunch of his nose, breaking old mended parts of cartilage, skin splitting open at his scar. He could taste blood but the pain only managed to fuel his rage and give him a reason to hurt the guy a hundred times as much. He came up swinging at the guy, fists clenched and ready. 

But he stopped in his tracks when he caught the cool glint of light off of the barrel of a pistol aimed straight at his head. The man smiled wide, revealing rows of stained and missing teeth, “Thirty minutes are up.” He pulled back the hammer. 

Instead of a gunshot, a crack resonated through the room. 

Nines had his hand clenched around the man’s right arm. The gun dropped. When the android let go the man could only stare slack jawed as the limb fell limp to his body. The compound fracture of his humerus spurting blood onto the floor. The man fell to the floor, shaking and screaming and crying. Body curled into the fetal position. 

Nines locked eyes with Gavin as his LED went from red to spinning yellow. “Detroit Police Department.” He spoke, somehow easy to hear over the screams, “This is Nines, serial code #313 248 317 -87, requesting back up at The Eden Club. I repeat, requesting back up.”

He hung up and yanked the man's hands behind his back, gaining a scream and forcing the sobbing man to sit with his back ramrod straight. “Don Mendoza,” Nines began, voice smooth and crystal clear, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”

The man kept shaking, obviously in shock at this point. “I said,” Nines pressed, “Do you understand?” 

The man nodded furiously, tears and blood staining the ground around him. 

-

Hank and Connor came by as backup along with an ambulance for Mendoza. 

“Jesus christ, Reed,” Hank whistled as he took one look at Gavin’s bloodied face, “Your nose is going to be even more awful than before.” 

Gavin huffed, not in the mood for much more than going home at this point, “Yeah, well fuck you too.”

Hank rolled his eyes and Connor came up to them, “Lieutenant, the ambulance is ready. We’re on guard duty at the hospital so we need to get going.” 

Hank groaned and walked towards the waiting vehicle. He paused for a second then turned back, “You sure you don’t wanna go to the hospital, Gavin?” 

“I’ll be fine.”

The Lieutenant shrugged, “Suit yourself. Connor, let’s go.”

Connor waved a curt goodbye Gavin’s direction, and then a much friendlier one to Nines. Connor’s LED flickered to yellow and then Gavin saw Nines blush slightly, the fuck was that about? 

Androids are fucking weird. 

Nines came up to Gavin, “What do you say we go get you cleaned up?” 

“I’m going home.”

Nines smirked, “I know that.” 

Then he fucking winked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connor: *slides into mental DMs* Gavin thinks you look cute!!!
> 
> Nines: *flustered gay blushing*


	2. Culus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiiiiii, so I won't be able to post for a whole week cuz im going camping!! So here's something I wrote in two nights on too little sleep, sorry not sorry for any weird shit <3

Rain beat softly against the windows of Gavin’s small apartment. Muted gray light shone through the curtains, revealing the pre dawn time, making the detective wonder why the fuck he was still fully conscious when work was only a few short hours away. 

Exhaustion hit him hard as the adrenaline from Eden wore away, left in its wake was a dull ache spreading across his nose, around his eyes, blooming across his cheeks. He’d done what he could for his poor nose, reset the cartilage to the best of his abilities. If he had any respiratory issues, if he had to go to the hospital later, so be it. But he couldn’t be bothered now. Just the thought of moving made him sink lower into his old couch. 

From the dull pain around the very tops of his cheeks he could tell he was going to have black eyes in the morning... or whenever he decided to wake up. The detective had a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to make it to work on time tomorrow and if Fowler had a problem then he could just go fuck himself. 

Whatever, that wasn’t the problem right now. It was just another thing to deal with later. 

He could deal with his crooked nose later. Deal with black eyes later. 

He could treat pain with pills and wipe his exhaustion away with copious amounts of nicotine and caffeine. 

No, the problem right now was the goddamn android who insisted on bandaging the opened gash on the bridge of his nose. Who gently held a pack of ice to his face in a last ditch effort to quell the worst of the swelling. Who wore old sweatpants and a ragged t-shirt from Gavin’s closet because the dumb robot just had to choose the worst time possible to forget his suit somewhere. 

Gavin couldn’t just deal with Nines later. Couldn’t push him away or wait for the balm of time to make everything better because the android was way more fucking stubborn than he should have the right to be. Way more annoying and rude and alarmingly patient than any human Gavin had ever met in his thirty-six years of life. 

Gavin felt pressure on his throat, silencing him when he thought to ask about what happened in that dark room. Before the arrest and broken bones and blood. About what Nines was about to say before they were interrupted. About what Nines thought kisses were supposed to mean. If everything that happened was just a desperate bid to decrease suspicion, or if there was some meaning in the soft bite marks on the side of his neck. 

That had to be the worst part of tonight. Corporeal pain, he knew how to deal with. With emotions or whatever the fuck this festering cloud hanging in his lungs and heart and mind was… well he wasn’t good with that shit. 

He tried to push the raging tide of questions away. It seemed like he was getting good at telling his mind to shut the fuck up. Years of practice seemed to help. 

So he distracted himself and tried to silence his thoughts by mindlessly watching Nines fuss with the butterfly bandages and ice. Watch the android check the correct dosage of pain relievers. Focus on the spinning blue of his LED. Watch how the brilliant glow made Gavin’s mundane living room seem somehow better than it really was. Clean and welcoming and peaceful. Shadows hiding weeks worth of old Chinese take out and pizza boxes, dirty clothes and empty beer bottles. 

Gavin watched passively as Nines’ LED flickered from gentle blue to sharp yellow as he scanned the detective. Searching for further damage, any emergency, despite knowing full well that Gavin’s condition had stabilized an hour ago. His eyebrows were lowered with some sort of concern, lips drawn into a demure pout. 

Stormy gray eyes locked with Gavin’s for a split second before Nines once more turned his gaze to the frigid ice pack in his hand. The android’s pout deepened into a frown. “I should have taken you to a hospital,” he lamented, free hand coming up to delicately cup Gavin’s jaw. Not for the first time, Gavin found himself surprised by the warmth of the synthetic skin. By its soft realness. He could feel himself lean into the touch. He was tired, he rationed. Just tired. 

“What you did was stupid, Gavin.” Nines continued, voice hushed and borderline guilty. The android sighed, then pulled his hand away from Gavin’s face. Gavin pretended that he didn’t mourn the loss. “You should not be putting yourself in harms way for me. You know this.” 

The detective huffed in response and leaned into the couch, eyelids heavy, mind too full. Eyes closed as he tried to think of how was he supposed to reason with the tin can. Explain why he did dumb shit because he had to. Because there was no other choice that he could live with. Because he would just be proving to the world and to himself that he was a piece of shit if he didn’t at least do one fucking thing right. 

He didn’t know how he was supposed to say that he didn’t mind the pain of punches, the taste of his own blood, the crunch of bone. All familiar and consistent friends in his life that visited more often than would probably be considered healthy. 

He didn’t know how to say that he would do everything- or more if need be- all over again if it meant he got to keep the android out of harm's way. 

Only months ago, he would have chastised himself for the thought that he would ever do anything to protect a robot. That a chunk of reinforced steel and electricity with a fancy computer for a brain could ever truly need help from a sentient pile of biodegradable flesh and bone… The detective would have huffed, finding a sick sort of degrading humor in it all. 

Gavin wasn’t fucking stupid and he saw the writing on the wall as soon as Nines showed up to be his partner. A cop that never got tired, could google anything in milliseconds, could analyze evidence by way of retinal scanning or- much to the detectives chagrin- an oral blood test. Nines was his own forensic lab, SWAT team, and entire police force all rolled up into one solid being. Gavin had felt impending dread and hate towards this… this thing… this foreign creature threatening to take over jobs Gavin had thought were better off left to human beings. 

Threatening to take away his job. Take away the only reason he had to not drown himself in whiskey like his old man. Take away the one thing that made him think that he might have a reason to get up in the morning. A proof that his existence wasn't just a pathetic, miserable waste of oxygen. 

Painfully slow, the android managed to chisel his way into Gavin’s life. Moving up from a partner forced upon him to a tolerated companion. 

And somehow that old threat turned himself into what could be loosely defined as a friend with well placed coffees and sassy remarks and the odd crooked grin. Gained the detective’s trust with wit and unflinching bravery. Made the man realize that maybe, just maybe, there was more to these androids then he had ever thought possible.

And that was terrifying. Hearing that they were living creatures capable of expressing their own free will was one thing. Watching the world change through a flat screen TV wouldn’t have ever changed how Gavin saw things. But now… after everything else... now there was this- this care and attention that the android was putting into just Gavin. A gentle nature that should be unable to manufacture or fabricate with a couple of ones and zeroes. There was no way in hell that he couldn’t just look at this beautiful thing and say honestly that he thought that Nines wasn’t alive. Wasn’t deserving of the same laws and treatment and protection as everyone else. 

In the chaotic safety of his own restless mind, Gavin admitted to himself that he had a passing affection for the tin can. That maybe he wouldn’t mind moving up another wrung of intimacy with the android. Friends to… to something more. 

It oddly felt like they were already there, in that ambiguous no mans land of more than friends, and Gavin had so many fucking questions it was giving him a headache. But he didn’t know how he was supposed to say any of this to Nines. Didn’t know if the android would even understand where he was coming from. 

Gavin didn’t have the first clue as to if Nines felt the same. Or if he felt anything. Or if he was also aware of this horrifying weight suddenly placed between them. 

As Nines began to switch out the ice pack, Gavin closed his eyes, entering that friendly darkness, and let himself fall into blissful and temporary oblivion. 

His sleep, for the first time in a long time, was peaceful and dreamless. 

-

Like most mornings, Gavin Reed woke up pissed off. His face felt like one giant bruise, which wasn’t very far from the truth. From where he lay, he felt disoriented by the strange yet blatantly familiar surroundings. Then it dawned on him, he was in his bedroom, comforter pulled snuggly around his shoulders. He sat up and ran a hand down his face with a tired groan, mind still slightly hazy from the pleasant fog of sleep. 

On his nightstand were two painkillers and a glass of water sitting next to his charging phone. He’d need to tell Nines thanks later, he thought, as he took both pills quickly. 

Then he reached for his phone. 

“Oh... fuck me.” 

It was noon and he had six missed calls, all going unnoticed due to him muting the damn thing before going into The Eden Club. One was from Fowler, who didn’t leave a voicemail which didn’t sit well with Gavin at all. 

The other five were from Nines. And while the android didn’t leave any voicemails either, he had several texts. 

7:00 AM

BitchBot900: Where are you? I’ve been here for an hour. Hurry up. (I have coffee!!)

8:40 AM

BitchBot900: Are you even alive? Answer me. Your coffee is cold and now Connor is getting worried. 

10:30 AM

BitchBot900: Captain Fowler is pissed. Get over here now, he wants to go over our mission and what happened with Mendoza. 

11:00 AM 

BitchBot900: Get the fuck over here. 

11:50 AM

BitchBot900: Gavin, I swear to god I will come to your house and drag you to work if you don’t answer me. 

Gavin sighed, figuring that he was in for a long day. He yanked on a clean DPD sweatshirt and black pants that didn’t have holes in the knees. He ran a comb through his hair quickly and didn’t even try to shave. His face looked like a blueberry, nothing was gonna help that shit. 

He sighed, laced up his Converse, and sprinted to catch a bus before sending a reply.

12:15 PM

ThatMotherFucker: Suprise, bitch. I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me. >:3c

ThatMotherFucker: im fuckin alive tell captin scowls-a-lot to keep his pants on 

BitchBot900: Why is it that you only use proper punctuation with memes? Also, thank you, Connor was about to have an android equivalent of a panic attack.

ThatMotherFucker: so… i guess he was about to… break down?

BitchBot900: Fuck you. 

BitchBot900: Meet me outside the precinct. We should talk to Fowler together. 

ThatMotherFucker: roger that

-

Nines was tapping his foot impatiently by the time Gavin’s bus stopped. The android huffed, “Took you long enough.”

Gavin rolled his eyes, a smirk tugging at his lips, he was more than ready to settle into something familiar and safe. Banter was normal, he could handle banter in his sleep, “Yeah, well, some asshole decided to let me sleep in, so who’s fault is it really?” 

Nines shook his head then pointed towards the building behind himself, “Fowler is in a terrible mood. Made worse by you not answering his call.”

“My phone was on mute and I was passed out!”

Nines’ shoulders drooped, “You cannot honestly think that’s an acceptable excuse in this situation.” Gavin said nothing. “That’s what I thought. From what I know, our mission has not been switched or assigned to another team, but we are on thin ice here. So please, behave yourself.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I got it”, Gavin grumbled as he walked past Nines, into the large building. 

To avoid wasting anymore time Gavin headed straight into Fowler’s office, Nines right on his heels. The boss looked more angry than usual, which was certainly saying something. Fowler’s jaw clenched and unclenched periodically as he gestured for the pair to sit down. 

“Are you two even remotely aware of how close you came to derailing this entire undercover mission at Eden?” Fowler growled, “Reed, your little knight in shining armor stunt could have had the potential to scare away every drug dealer in that side of Detroit. RK- Nines, you assaulted a human who could have been a valuable asset in this case. Mendoza is currently unwilling to talk to anyone about the incident. He’s refusing any promise of release for information. He’s a dead end now.”

“Sir,” Gavin spoke up through clenched teeth, trying his best not to yell or blow up at the Captain, attempting to heed Nines’ words, “Nines stopped a killer last night. Not only does Mendoza have drug charges against him, but also those of attempted murder of a police officer. You should be congratulating Nines, not reprimanding him for saving my life-”

“Nines would not have been in a position to harm Mendoza had you just done your job, Reed. Neither of you would have been in any danger. Now, I want you both to go back there, do the same thing, but Reed, don’t make another mess for me or I will kick you off of this case and you can have parking meter duty for a month. Am I understood?” 

Nines’ LED blinked to yellow for a single rotation, “Captain, the reason detective Reed stepped in was that he perceived that I was in danger.” He glanced at Gavin for a split second, “I would have to agree with him. Mendoza is a vicious man, and I could have been damaged doing what he wanted from me. I would like to request a different cover for this mission.”

Fowler slumped forward in his seat, “Look, Nines, working the floor like you were is the best way for you to get information. The owner of the club agreed to work with us, alright? I’m sure I could get her to set you up somewhere where purchase isn’t an option. Is that alright?”

Nines nodded, though Gavin didn’t feel so sure. 

Fowler let out a shaky breath, “You two are excused. Get whatever you have to do over here done with, then head out to the club.” 

-

Gavin’s arms were crossed tightly around his torso as he paced around the breakroom. It was lunch time which meant the room was vacant aside form Nines who quietly brewed coffee in the corner. 

Gavin ran a hand through his hair angrily, “I can’t believe Fowler didn’t take that fucking creep Mendoza more seriously! He almost killed me, had the goddamn pistol to my face and everything! I meant what I said before, you should be getting a raise or something for breaking that fat fucks arm-”

“Gavin, according to one of the first laws put in place after the revolution, I am not allowed to harm a human being. The only reason I’m getting off with a slap on my wrist is because I helped you.” 

“Fuck yeah, you helped me! Pistol. To. My. Face. I would have died. And now we gotta go back there and I gotta pose as creeps mc gee and you have to wear stripper boots again? This mission is fucking stupid. I mean, I get it, okay? But you were almost forced to sell your body! It’s fucking illegal for cops to need to do that sort of shit!”

Nines bustled around the kitchen, grabbing milk and sugar. “Well,” the android corrected, “It’s illegal for a human officer to engage in that activity. There are no statutes in place for androids.”

Gavin stopped in his tracks, “Nines, from now on, lets just assume that when something is illegal for me, it's fucking illegal for you too. Got it? This whole, ‘equal but separate’ shit is bull, if things aren’t completely equal, it’s not an equality, it’s that fuckin simple.” 

Nines huffed and rolled his eyes but opted to stay silent. He finished up the little mocha latte he was working on and handed the cup to Gavin. The foam at the top formed a little heart. 

Gavin’s eyebrows raised as he looked at it. 

As Nines walked out of the room, Gavin just kept on staring at that tiny little heart. Completely shell shocked. 

“What the fuck?” 

-

Gavin stared out of the window of the old car they borrowed for the sake of the mission. Nines drove, exercising all safety precautions. Coming to full stops and shit like that. 

Gavin was still distracted by the little heart. Nines probably just thought he was being nice, leaving an image on the coffee. But this was literally the first time the android had done something like this. The first time he put the effort into making an image on the coffee, let alone him making something as fancy as a latte in the first place. 

“Hey,” Gavin started because he fucking hated the questions building up. “Why did you make me a latte today?”

Nines glanced over at him, “Well, I thought that you would like it.”

Wow, that was awfully specific. Gavin leaned against the door and sighed. 

Nines pursed his lips, one eyebrow quirked upwards, “Did you like it? I was worried I made it too sweet, it had around twenty more grams of sugar in it than your normal coffee.”

Gavin waved him off, “It… it was good. Thank you.”

A small smile graced Nines’ features, “You’re welcome.” Gavin faced the window once more, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to hide the blush creeping onto his face. 

-

The club looked a lot different during the day when neon signs didn’t light up the ground around it in hot pink. Not dingy, but halfways sad. Empty and still quiet hung heavy in the air without the presence of heavy bass. 

Nines led the way through the building. It was surreal. Some androids were playing cards with each other to pass the time until the club opened its doors. Others were in stasis, and more just talked amongst themselves. Laughter occasionally breaking out between them. 

Gavin felt weird, more so than when he saw these same people half naked in their little glass boxes. This felt oddly more private and intimate. A look into who they really were. A break in the lie that was that these androids were just to be used for pleasure. Just toys and things. An unsettling reality that they had just as much free will as Gavin or any human did, and yet they had to work here. 

Gavin settled the rise of sympathy by silently promising to at least making things better for these men and women by getting rid of a few dealers of red ice. He could only hope that by doing that their clientele would be less aggressive. Less pushy and mean. 

Nines took them through a back room that held a thin spiral staircase. The second floor looked exactly like a business office. Clean linoleum floors, filing cabinets, a large computer in the center of a wooden desk that hid the woman behind it, clicking away at the keyboard. 

Nines knocked on the doorframe, “Topaz?”

The woman behind the desk let out an excited gasp, “Richard? Is that you?”

Gavin looked at Nines incredulously and mouthed ‘Richard’? The android shrugged slightly, a small smile playing on his lips. 

The woman was was probably in her mid twenties and short, though not absurdly so. Her short hair was bright pink and her round glasses framed her soft face well. She wore cut off shorts and a navy button up. In every possible way, she was not who Gavin thought the owner of a club like Eden would look like. 

She smiled brightly at Gavin, green eyes shining, “And might you be?”

“This is Culus,” Nines spoke up. 

Topaz snorted, “I have a hard time believing that.”

“Well it’s true.” Nines was grinning his weird crooked little grin and Gavin figured that it was safe to say that he was confused as hell. 

Topaz just giggled and reached out for Nines’ hand. “So what do the boys in blue want today?” 

Nines grabbed her small hand in his and closed his eyes, letting the skin of his forearm disappear, leaving only white and light gray. Topaz closed her eyes and, much to Gavin’s surprise, her skin also disappeared. He looked to her temple one more time, but still he saw no tell tale LED there. 

The detective took a step back from the interfacing androids. He had some sort of an understanding of what they were doing, just gathering information from one another. Really it was no different from tapping your phone to another person’s to get pictures. But it was how still they were, how placid and serene they looked, that made this whole situation seem more intimate than in was. 

Gavin shifted uncomfortably as he waited for them to finish with whatever it was that they were doing. 

Topaz opened her eyes first and pulled her hand sharply from Nines’. She glanced up apologetically at Gavin, “Oh dear… On behalf of my establishment, let me formally apologize to you for what my… for lack of better term… for what my coworker did. Don has always been a hot head, but hopefully he detoxes in jail enough to actually be sober. Though I don’t plan on giving up anymore control of my club for him.” 

She shook her head, “I just can’t believe he would rough up Cathrine, or you for that matter.” She gestured to Nines. 

Gavin bristled, turning towards Nines, “He hurt you?”

“No, she just means that he was about to.” 

Topaz nodded, “Richard, I have to agree with Culus, I don’t think that it’s a good idea for you to be working on the floor. I can have you in a display case? Or on one of the poles upfront, from there I think you’d be able to see just about everyone that came in…” 

“That would work, thank you. I’ll come by later today.” 

“Please do!” Topaz called out pleasantly as the pair left. 

-

Gavin’s eyebrows furrowed together when they entered the car again, “Why didn’t she have her LED? Is she defective or something?”

Nines shook his head, “The LEDs are more for aesthetic and easy classification at this point. Some people say that data range can become reduced if they are removed, but that’s just a myth.”

Gavin nodded, acting like what he knew about being able tell android from human hadn’t just been shattered into a billion pieces. He swallowed, “So how did Topaz know about Mendoza roughing up that girl? Or about how he came after me?”

“I showed her my footage from last night,” Nines commented nonchalantly. 

“Your… your footage?” Sometimes it was so easy to forget that behind those pale gray eyes were twin cameras. Gavin felt his face heat up, embarrassment setting in. 

Nines laughed, “It was edited! Don’t worry.” 

“You’re an asshole.” Gavin groaned. 

Nines rolled his eyes, smirking, “No, you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Culus is Latin for "asshole" btw 
> 
> Topaz is an AX400 model (her hair is a lot shorter than Kara's tho, like its buzzed on the sides)
> 
> This chapter was filled with something I am well versed in: gay panic and confusion and stress and questions (so many fucking questions) :D


	3. Corsets and Stilettos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Enjoy~ <3

It was decided. The world fucking hated Gavin Reed. 

It was just a little past four, and the androids in Eden all started getting ready for the night. That, of course, included Nines. The androids all had their own little booths in the back, filled with some makeup and a mirror and good lighting and a wide assortment of outfits to choose from. The business seemed to be doing quite well for itself. 

Nines sat on a short stool in front of Gavin, who was kneeling on the ground, resting on the back of his legs, upon the request of the android. Not that Nines really had to do all that much to twist his arm. 

Nines looked fucking beautiful. Gavin couldn’t act like he didn’t notice that right now. The android’s cool gray eyes were framed with perfectly applied eyeliner, making them pop and look so much larger than normal. His pouty cupid bow lips were painted a dark crimson that complemented his pale skin. 

The android was dressed in ridiculously short shorts again. Still wore the same tall high heels. But tonight his chest was covered by a black corset that showed off his broad chest and narrow waist, flaring out at his hips. Lace criss crossing on his sides, tantalizing muscles showing through. 

Gavin wanted to unwrap him like a present. Wanted to kiss his strong thighs. Wanted Nines to get back on his lap. 

The detective wanted just about everything that the android was willing to give now that he finally came to terms with the fact that he seriously wanted to have a deeper relationship with Nines. Finally faced that maybe he liked the android more than he ever wanted to let on before. 

Not that his body was of much help in that department. 

Stupid physical reactions to mental images. Stupidly inappropriate thoughts running through his mind. Thoughts about what exactly the detective would like to be doing in the particular position. Thoughts about the sounds that he might be able to pull from the androids lips, if Gavin jut raised his hands and-

Gavin mentally shook himself. He was at work and this was not the fucking time. 

All the while, Nines gently cupped Gavin’s face as he applied a layer of concealer to the bridge of the detective’s nose. The android said that he thought it was too suspicious for Gavin to be black and blue in the club. Gavin agreed, but he couldn’t really focus on that right now. He used both of his hands to pull down his overly large sweatshirt. Trying, likely in vain, to cover up the bulge there. 

Blessedly, the android said nothing about it. He kept his eyes firmly locked on Gavin’s face. 

It wasn’t fucking fair that Gavin was reacting like a stupid horny teenager, meanwhile Nines was as calm and collected as ever. Lips slightly pursed as he focused on his little task. Probably doing an awesome job, that son of a bitch. 

The android pulled back suddenly, dropping his hand away. Gavin hadn’t realized how heavily he was leaning on Nines until that brace was gone and he almost fell flat on his face. He found his balance, luckily. That would have been embarrassing. 

Well, more embarrassing than it already was. 

“Done,” Nines said with a proud little smile. He held up a mirror to Gavin and… shit. Gavin’s bruising was completely hidden. The detective actually looked like he was used to getting a decent amount of sleep and even his crooked nose was slightly hidden by the makeup. 

“That…” Gavin started, losing his train of thought when he met Nines’ eyes. He looked down at his hands, “Good work there, tin can… thanks.”

Nines beamed at the detective, soaking up the praise. “Well, I’m glad you like it, meat sack.” 

Gavin rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, still adamantly avoiding Nines’ gaze. “Be safe out there tonight, okay?” 

The android nodded then ruffled Gavin’s hair as he stood, “Same goes for you.” 

Nines was the first to leave the small booth. Thank God for small miracles. 

-

Gavin made his way into the club. Watched the androids get into their glass boxes and up on their stages. Then went outside to waste time and smoke before five o’clock rolled around. 

Sleazy looking men and one or two women went into Eden. Then Gavin went back inside and decided to question a few androids, try to find out what they know. He approached a glass case that had a blonde man inside. He was dressed simply, compared to what Nines wore. Bare feet, solid black boxers, and a short crop top that showed off his synthetically chiseled abdomen. 

Gavin pulled out a company credit card and rented the guy for twenty minutes. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The man purred as he stepped down.

Gavin bit back a retort and took the blondie into an empty room. 

As soon as the door was shut, the android dropped the suave persona. “What do you need, detective?”

Gavin’s eyebrows perked up, “You know who I am?”

The android gave a polite nod, “Of course, you’re Gavin Reed, Topaz sent out a message. She wants us to look out for you and your partner while you’re here. I’m Luka, by the way, and I’d like you to know that I appreciate your guys’ help. This red ice thing… it needs to be stopped, the sooner the better.”

“Yeah, you’re preaching to the choir there. So, Luka, what do you know about Don Mendoza? Or about any other users that frequent Eden?”

Luka leaned against a wall and crossed his arms, “Detective, please know that I’m not equipped with any kind of scanning processor like your partner is… but I think that Rebecca Shaw is a user. She’s a regular of mine and recently she’s gotten… gotten a lot more violent. More short tempered and physically aggressive. She’s started to scream at me, as well as a few others, on a regular basis, seemingly out of nowhere. Her eyes are red a lot and sometimes she gets these really bad nosebleeds… Um, as for Don, he was never a client of mine. But he came around a lot for my friend Angel. She works to the right of me on the floor if you want to talk to her next.” 

“I’ll do that. About this Rebecca lady, has she ever hurt you or anyone else?”

The android shook his head, “She throws things, but that’s it.”

Gavin nodded softly, “When does she come in, usually?”

Luka shrugged lightly, “She doesnt follow a specific pattern. But it’s usually between six and nine, and she tends to come in more often on weekdays. It’s Thursday so… there’s around a sixty percent chance of her swinging by in the next few hours.” 

“Do you have a picture of her that I can see?”

Luka held up his hand, palm up. A cropped image flickered to life of a woman, late twenties maybe, she had tanned bronze skin and her long straight black hair was tied up into a tight bun. Her eyes were a brilliant unnatural amethyst, meaning that she either had some sort of surgery for the odd color or she was fond of contacts. 

“Could you send that picture to Nines?” Gavin questioned, “I want him on the lookout.” 

Luka’s LED flickered to yellow briefly, “Done.”

“Thanks.”

The android smiled, “No problem, detective.”

Gavin and Luka walked out of the room together and the android pointed out Angel before he went back into his box. 

She was in a cat maid outfit that seemed to be straight from an anime that Gavin watched when he was a younger. She even had little white ears perched on the top of her head, poking out of her crinkly bobbed chocolate brown hair. They flicked forwards when the glass door opened with a soft click. 

Her tail- her fucking tail, what was the world coming to- swished excitedly back and forth. “Good evening, sir!” 

Gavin was pretty sure that it wasn’t in his job description to be talking to neko girls. Jesus Christ this night kept getting more and more bizarre. 

Same as with Luka, the detective wasted no time and took the lead into a room. “Excited, aren’t we?” Teased Angel in a lighthearted voice. She clung to Gavin’s arm the whole way there. 

However, her demeanor took a turn for the worse when the door closed. She shoved him off, her ears were pinned back against her head, “The fuck you do want, Reed?” 

Wow. “I have questions for you-”

“You couldn’t have done this while I was off the clock?” Her voice was basically a growl.

Gavin rolled his eyes, frustrated, “You’re still getting paid.”

She sneered, “I’m expecting a client soon. They aren’t too fond of being kept waiting.”

“Are they here yet?” 

“Well, no-”

“Good, I still have questions.” Gavin continued quickly so she wouldn’t have the chance to snap back, “Don Mendoza. What do you know about him? Do you have any sort of idea when he started using red ice? When he started to become violent?” 

Angel crossed her arms, tail swishing back and forth out of agitation. She was frowning deeply, like she didn’t want to talk to Gavin but this was the only way to get the cop off of her back. “A few weeks ago he started getting more aggressive than normal. Like, sure, he was always in to a bit of rough play, but most guys who come through here are. But he became worse. And no, it wasn’t because he just decided to start using the drug. He’s been on that shit ever since I started working here a year ago.”

Gavin pondered over that for a second. “Do you think there’s a new formula for the drug out there? With worse effects on the user?”

The android shrugged her arms, “How the hell am I supposed to know? Look, you and your lap dog can figure this out without me. Just do it quick. Now, I’m gonna go get back to my job.”

Gavin sighed, “In a second. Did he ever get nosebleeds?”

Angel made her way to the door, “Sometimes.” And that was all she said before she left. 

-

The internet was an amazing tool.Get yourself a smartphone and police clearance on the right sites, and you could find anything about the majority of people in a huge city. Find really fucking important things like were criminals lived, and whether or not they lived alone. 

See, at the club, he had felt like he was getting nowhere. Other androids there either knew nothing or they said similar things to Luka. Just that they knew someone who might be a user, blah blah blah. He still had them send the suspects photos to Nines. Let the android be cluttered with the boring shit. 

He would get around to talking to the handful of other androids later. But at the time he seriously had to get out of there before he exploded or died of heatstroke in the uncomfortable and somehow slightly humid club. 

So here Gavin Reed was, parked outside of a rundown apartment complex in a ghetto of Detroit, not too far away from the red light district. A dozen blocks or so from Eden. 

8:12 PM

ThatMotherFucker: im checkin out mendozas place, so dont panic when u check my location

BitchBot900: I would have been able to Google where you were anyways. Gavin, you don’t have a search warrant, so I must let you know that this action is ill advised. You could be arrested.

ThatMotherFucker: i can claim imminent destruction of evidence or some shit whatever

BitchBot900: You sounded so intelligent there for a second.

ThatMotherFucker: *finger guns*

Gavin smirked at his phone before putting it on silent- mentally reminding himself to put it on at least vibrate before going to bed. 

He got out of his car, slowly darkening dusk light stretched his shadow across the lonely street he was on. It was slightly off putting, to be in such a strangely abandoned place so early in the night. As Gavin scanned the neighborhood and looked across the street of the old complex, he thought he caught a glimpse of someone's face in a window before the curtain was roughly shoved back into place. 

Well that was fucking creepy. 

Gavin quickly did a check for his side arm, strapped to his waist, hidden beneath his baggy sweatshirt. There was no way he was gonna take another risk like that first night on the mission. He’d prefer not to get his face shot off, thank you very much. 

He wandered over to the entrance of the large housing building. His movements were slow and unhurried, didn’t want to attract any sort of unwanted attention. 

The inside was just as ominously vacant as the streets. Low white noise of voices on televisions could be heard as he passed by rooms, a few footsteps from upstairs. That was it. No shouting, no babies crying, no one awkwardly stuck talking to their neighbor. 

As an apartment guy himself, Gavin knew this sort of thing to be odd. His guts felt a little chilled by the honestly unwanted knowledge. 

He kept his footsteps quiet as he neared room One-Twenty-Seven. 

By some stroke of luck, the place was unlocked. As the door swung open Gavin was hit by a choking stench of chemicals and smoke. Looked like Mendoza didn’t have any qualms about using inside. Not a surprise, but the detective seriously hoped that no kids were unfortunate enough to live next to the noxious room.

The apartment was small, opening up to reveal a sad excuse of a kitchen and living room. A TV sat on the back wall crookedly, in front of a nasty stained with god-knows-what La-Z-Boy. A few other dust covered pieces sat at the sides, some of the boxes and crates obviously more used than others with finger lines trailing through the grime. Gross, but nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. Gavin decided to wait on digging though the random shit because he didn’t want his fingerprints everywhere. 

Sure, Mendoza was already behind bars, but other druggies could have come by here. Any sort of lead was a good one at this point.

The detective checked out the bathroom next. Disgusting, piss stained, and unextraordinary in its contents. 

Finally, last but certainly not least, was the bedroom. The bed was unmade, dresser drawers stuck out at random intervals, and the closet looked like a bomb went off inside of it. Clothes were strewn about the floor, the smell of body odor was fucking strong in here. 

The detective sighed deeply, this was gonna suck. He went over the places that addicts were likely to hide their drugs, which Mendoza could have easily done before going to the club. Especially if he was the type to just leave his door open. 

So Gavin checked drawers in the bed room. Checked cabinets in the kitchen. Looked underneath the bed and checked all around the cracks of the recliner. 

The detective growled under his breath as he started checking air vents, to no avail. He had to find a sample of the drug that Mendoza was taking. From the sounds of it, it seemed like a different strain of red ice. More dangerous. The DPD had to know what the fuck they were up against if they even wanted to stand a chance of posing a threat to the drug crisis. 

Again, he found himself in the bathroom, which he waited to check until last. It was disgusting- what could he say? He checked the small medicine cabinet, no go. Then he lifted up the lid on the back of the toilet and… Jackpot!

In a little water tight ziploc bag was at least four ounces of red ice. Gavin excitedly fished it out. Sure his first night on this new case had been a pretty shitty one but today? Today was looking up-

Murphy’s Law decided to remind detective Reed of its existence at that moment.

Frozen in the bathroom, Gavin listened in horror as the door to the apartment opened with a slow creak. 

He was fucked where he was. There was nowhere to hide. No cover unless he decided to shut the door the rest of the way, which would be a dead giveaway. He took a silent deep breath as his hand hovered over the pistol hanging at his side. 

He swallowed, then whipped the phone out of his pocket instead of the gun. He didn’t want to try to shoot his way out of here. 

8:34

ThatMotherFucker: code 2, 8

The brief message to Nines requested urgent backup. Gavin hardly ever used codes if he could help it, so the detective said a quick prayer that it lit a fire under the androids ass. 

“Yo, Mendoza?” Shouted a rough, gravelly voice from the entryway, baritone and obviously male. “Don, where the fuck is my shit?” 

“Vic, he ain’t here.” Came a second voice. This one still rough yet female. “We should just go down to Joha-”

“Don said that he was gonna be here, Bec. So he better fuckin be here.” An odd sound of something large starting thumping against the tiled floors as the pair made their way around the kitchen. 

Gavin squeezed into the little space behind the opened door, heart pounding in his ears. Through the crack, he could see a woman with straight black hair- Rebecca Shaw. The man with her was a larger guy, muscular, with sleeves of tribal tattoos running up his thick arms. To top it all off, he was holding a metal baseball bat. 

The duo wandered into the living room, out of Gavin’s minimal line of view. He could hear a crash as the recliner was knocked over. “Where the hell would he put it?” The man barked. 

Sounds of boxes being torn through. “I don’t know…” Rebecca said. “It’s here somewhere.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” 

A sigh. 

A second passed, then footsteps approached the bathroom and the detective’s fingers curled where they hovered over his pistol, shirt swept over it for easy access. He knew full damn well that if he got hit by that bat, he would be done for. 

The steps completely stopped, “Oh shit!” The man’s voice was right in front of where Gavin was hiding. All the man would need was two more strides to see the cop hiding. 

Gavin held his breath. 

“What is it?” Rebecca’s voice was also so much closer now. 

“Fucking nose bleed.” He stomped towards the kitchen, passing through Gavin’s view point for a brief second. Rebecca trailed along behind him. 

The sound of paper towels ripping appart. “There you go,” the woman sounded like a nurse. Voice soft and compassionate, not at all fitting the woman who currently hunted through a nasty apartment looking for drugs. 

More steps, but they were much further away this time. Gavin watched the man, now with one hand clutching a paper towel to his face, and Rebecca head into the bedroom. 

Fuck, if there was ever going to be a moment for the detective to make a break for it, this was it. 

He crept out from his hiding place behind the door as he heard the pair digging through dirty clothes and pulling the closet doors open. He crossed the threshold of the bathroom door into the carpet of the living room, carefully avoiding discarded chip bags and beer cans. 

“I ain’t finding shit!” Snapped the man, his sudden voice making Gavin jump slightly then pause his exodus. 

“Just keep looking.” Rebecca said, same sort of patience as before, but this time it definitely felt a lot more condescending. 

Gavin could hear the man mutter something, but neither of them left the room, so he pushed forwards, and ducked down when he came by the counters in the kitchen. He snuck low in a squatting position. His thighs and calves started burning after a few seconds, but he did his best to ignore it. Fucking hell, he really had to go to the gym soon unless he wanted to turn out looking like Hank. 

He approached the front door, just a few feet away now, hand reaching out to escape-

“There ain’t nothing in here! You stay there, I’m gonna check the fucking bathroom.” The man shouted, voice nearing the kitchen. Gavin pushed himself up against the cabinets to avoid detection. The man didn’t notice anything was off, thank God. Fuck, that was close. 

But he was fine. Rebecca was still occupied and now the man was in the bathroom. Everything was cool. 

Just kidding. 

The world fucking hates Gavin Reed, remember? 

The front door of the apartment was kicked down. It was unlocked for fucks sake, but the android just had to kick it down. “Culus?” Nines shouted as the door slammed against the wall, still stuck on the code name apparently, “You sent for-” He paused when he spotted the detective crouching on the ground in front of him. “Oh, hello there, are you alright?”

Gavin wanted to rip his stupid pretty face off. 

The man in the bathroom stormed into the kitchen, took one look at the android- still in the same outfit as earlier- and raised his bat. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Terribly sorry, looks like I’m at the wrong house.” Nines stayed where he was, and the man took several steps forward to confront the tall- made taller by the stilettos- android. 

“You better get the fuck out before I turn you into a chunk of scrap you piece of shit…” He trailed off as he spotted Gavin, still on the floor of the kitchen. One hand hovering over his side arm, the other clinging to the plastic bag full of red ice. 

“You mother fucker!” And that was all the warning Gavin was given before the big man swung his bat in a terrifying arc. The detective only just managed to dodge it before it slammed into the cupboard behind him, splintering the wood there. 

“Vic, what's going on?” Rebecca yelled from somewhere in the living room. Gavin really wasn’t too worried about her right now, what with the bat and all. 

“This bastard has my ice!” He swung again, hitting yet another drawer. His nose was dripping with blood now, likely from the new strain. 

The man raised his bat to swing down again, but Nines was behind him and he grabbed the bat with one hand. The android practically immobilized the guy behind the force of his own momentum and the man stumbled forwards then tripped on his own two feet, falling face first into a small pile of trash. 

Gavin now whipped out his pistol and aimed it at the man. “You fucking stay there!” 

The detective began to back away towards the wide open front door. Gavin could arrest this asshole for assault and battery, maybe even attempted murder, but he couldn’t do that. He was supposed to be finding whoever was making this new drug, not take all his potential leads to jail. Actually, he was seriously fucking up again by pulling his gun. He couldn’t really be their friend now. Couldn’t exactly find any more shit from them. 

He glanced back at Nines who was stock still and staring into the living room. Eyes widened almost comically as his LED went from bright blue to red in a split second. What the hell-

“Get down!” The android shouted before lunging forwards and tackling Gavin. 

Then the detective heard a gunshot rip through the air. Sounded like it was from something small, something handheld… Meaning Rebecca had a gun. 

Holy shit. 

Nines was over him, so he heard rather than saw the criminal duo run out of the room. 

Gavin sighed a breath of relief that now they were gone. He still had the sample of drugs for the lab to look at. The DPD could still figure some shit out. 

The android rolled off of him and sat with his back against the cabinets of the kitchen. Gavin clapped his shoulder. “Thanks,” he said breathlessly, adrenaline rush still hitting him hard. 

Nines’ LED was still a brilliant red as he gave the detective a pained smile, “Anytime.” 

Gavin noticed the android’s hand curled around his stomach. Thin pale fingers had dark blue seeping through the cracks. 

“Holy shit! Nines, were you shot? Are you okay?” Gavin scooted closer, grabbing at his partners hands to try and get a look at the wound, see how bad the damage was. 

“I… I am alright. And I was, but I have over an hour until shut down. Nothing critical has been hit so everything is fine-”

“Everything is fine?” Gavin balked. “What part of getting shot by a fucking gun seems okay to you?”

“My primary objective is to protect you, detective-”

“Fucking don’t! Thank you, okay? It’s not like I don’t fucking appreciate this, but take care of yourself! I can’t have you getting hurt on me, Nines. Why don’t you understand that?”

“I can’t have you getting hurt on me either, Gavin,” Nines murmured. Eyes cast away from the detective’s face, a light blue creeping up his neck and across his cheeks. 

Gavin couldn’t fucking be hearing him right. “What?” He asked, voice nothing but an awed whisper. 

“I don’t want to lose you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *slides David Cage five dollars and a chocolate bar for cannon content of Nines in high heels and short shorts*


	4. Insomnia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another long wait ^^' I can (probably) promise that the next chapter will come much quicker <3

Gavin couldn't sleep. 

It was almost midnight and he couldn't close his eyes despite the fact that he was tired and exhausted. Despite his whole body screaming for rest. 

Because every time his eyes drifted shut for even a second he saw Nines on that white table with his insides being taken out and replaced. That ugly wound on his stomach still bleeding and dripping dark thirium to the ivory floor below.

As a cop he had faced the fact that he could die on the job years ago. He knew full well that his coworkers faced that same bleak reality and he tried not to let that weigh him down. 

But with Nines, it was different. The android had never been hurt on a job before. He was programmed to avoid injury or any sort of damage. And yet here he was jumping in front of bullets for… for Gavin. 

The bullet from Rebecca's gun could have easily killed the detective. 

Nines simply didn’t let that happen. 

It was that thought that kept the detective up, reverberating in his head on a tormenting, endless cycle. If Nines had died, it would have been all his fault. The fact that he was hurt at all… that was on Gavin. There was no getting around that. The blame fell solely on Detective fucking Reed and his idiocy and impulsiveness. 

And Gavin didn’t exactly believe in any sort of higher power. But it felt a lot like this feeling of wretched guilt and worry was the world’s way of letting him know that he fucked up. That it should have been him that took the bullet.

The detective didn’t want to think about… didn’t want to think about much at all, really. Didn’t want his mind to keep screaming at him under the blankets of his bed. Didn’t want to let this guilt keep festering in his chest. 

So he sat on his balcony chain smoking and listening to music that was probably way too loud for earbuds. But in someway the light pain and shock of each heavy cord from a guitar distracted his thoughts. Helped him feel less like Gavin Reed and more like just a blank slate sitting in the cold. 

It was almost nice. 

Honestly, whatever he did at this point, it was better than continuously checking on the android currently in stasis on his couch. Watching Nines’ chest rise and fall with artificial breaths like that was some sort of indication of his health. Like Gavin would be able to do anything if something went wrong anyway.

That was another thing that was so fucking wrong with this whole situation. 

Nines would have known what to do if Gavin was the one who was injured. Hell, Nines knew what to do when the detectives nose was broken, the android knew what to do when Gavin sprained his wrist by punching a wall that one time, knew how to treat hangovers and headaches. 

Meanwhile Gavin would need a whole damn manual to fix a pulled out wire. He would have offered to tie a tourniquet around the androids waist if he thought that might have helped. But that's the thing, he just didn’t have the slightest clue of what to do so he just drove to the old Cyberlife facility as fast as he could without getting Nines worked up.

Nines had said that he was fine, but how was he fine when his LED was bright red the whole time? Androids said that they don’t feel pain but how could that be true when Gavin saw his partner wince when he thought the detective wasn’t looking?

He pushed the raging tide of questions away and took another deep breath of smoke. The familiar sting friendly and welcome in his lungs. 

He leaned back up against the brick wall to his back and breathed it out. Mindlessly watching the smoke dissipate in the night air. 

There were some stars hidden behind wispy clouds. He could only just make out Orion and the Big Dipper, countless lessons from his mom still stuck in his head even after all these years. 

He closed his eyes and sighed, wondering if falling asleep out here would be that bad. He would need to grab a blanket though… and the night air was far too chilled to let him rest for long. Besides, if he did wind up back inside he was going to his bed and then he wasn’t going to move again. 

When he opened his eyes, Nines stood in the doorway to the balcony. Gavin just about had a heart attack and jumped about five feet in his seat. He ripped out an ear bud. “Thought you were in stasis, tin can.” 

Gavin’s voice, meant to be strong and tough, turned out to be more melancholic and sad than anything. 

The android looked at the cigarette in Gavin’s hand, pointedly ignoring the question. “You should stop smoking.”

The detective huffed, “It hasn’t killed me yet. What’s the big deal?”

“It could cut your life short, Gavin.”

“Jesus Christ, Nines, I didn’t expect to get a fucking PSA. I’ll die when I die. Whatever.”

Nines’ eyebrows furrowed, frustrated. He crossed his arms in an imitation of being cold. Dressed in a baggy t-shirt and old basketball shorts of Gavin’s, the detective guessed that if he was human he would be freezing. 

The android sat down softly next to Gavin and, out of some sort of consideration for Nines’ wishes, he put his cigarette out even though he wasn’t close to halfways done with the thing. 

“I don’t think that it’s whatever.” Nines said as softly as he could. 

Gavin said nothing because what was he supposed to say to that? 

The night was quiet for a few heart beats. Then, giving into tiredness or old temptation- Gavin didn’t know what- the detective leaned against the android, resting his head on Nines’ large shoulder. 

The android said nothing as he wrapped an arm around Gavin’s waist. 

The detective nestled into the vaguely unnatural warmth Nines’ body was putting off. Finally able to let some of that guilt and worry go because Nines was fine. He wasn’t hurt anymore, he wasn’t dead, and he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

-

Gavin woke up in his bed- to his phone’s alarm this time. 

He had no memory of how exactly he got there but he was positive that it involved the android being nicer than Gavin would ever deserve. 

He threw his arms up to stretch lazily, in no real hurry to get up and get going. He had a good forty-five minutes to get ready and find something edible, plenty of time. 

He meandered over to his bathroom, took a shower, and got a much needed shave in. His face was still rough, but yellow had started to mix in with the purple bruises around his eyes and nose meaning- at the very least- he had started to heal. His nose was still a little tender too, but Nines was one hell of a medic so it felt a lot better than when he broke it that first time. 

He mused his hair up into his typical sloppy style then got dressed in his usual faded leather jacket over top a comfy black t-shirt and blue jeans made soft by age and use. 

Gavin yawned and went to his kitchen to make himself a coffee and maybe a piece of toast if he was feeling ambitious. 

His eyebrows shot up when he saw Nines in his kitchen cooking bacon and eggs like it was the most normal thing in the world. “What the hell is this?” 

Nines didn’t look back, choosing instead to focus the majority of his attention on making the perfect sunny side ups, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Gavin. Some protein will be beneficial to you and the healing process.” He made a motion to the table behind him, “I made you coffee.” 

Gavin sat down slowly, not quite trusting this odd vision as reality instead of some weird fever dream. As per usual, the coffee was amazing. The detective took deep breath when the android put the food onto a plate, “Nines… this is unnecessary…”

If he sounded hesitant when he said that, it’s because he was. This was probably the best food that was made at his house in… well, in forever. 

Nines shook his head as he pulled up a seat near Gavin, “Nonsense, this is a proper thank you for letting me stay at your house for the second night in a row.”

Gavin took a bite of egg and of course it was delicious and somehow- as if by magic- it was cooked just how he liked it. “Shit, tin can,” He joked, “If you’re gonna cook me food like this then you can move in.” 

A flicker of a yellow LED, “I think I would like that.” 

Gavin choked on his sip of coffee. “You fucking what?”

Nines looked taken aback, “Well you offered.” 

“I- I know I just… I…” Gavin realized that he stuck his entire foot in his mouth and now he was fucked. 

“I don’t have my own home or apartment due to heavily restrictive land laws for androids, so I would be able to stop staying at the station all the time. I could sleep on the couch as I don’t require anything incredibly comfortable to go into stasis. I could help you pay for rent as I have an expendable income, and I could continue making you food that doesn’t come with an overabundance of sodium or grease.” 

Literally nothing the android said sounded like a bad thing. “I- I- fucking alright. When do you want to move in?” 

“Today,” Nines chirped without a single hint of hesitation. 

Fucking hell, this shitty toaster was going to be the death of Gavin. 

And here’s the thing, the detective was starting to think that he wouldn’t mind that. 

-

“Reed! Nines! Get your asses in here, now!” 

Gavin had barely been at work for five seconds and now his boss was screaming at him. Perfect. 

He glanced at Nines who looked just about as pleased as the detective felt. Well, at least he wasn’t the only one stuck in this shitty situation. 

Fowler looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. “Close the door behind you.” 

Nines compiled in complete silence. 

“Reed, what the fuck were you thinking? Going into an apartment without a search warrant? Are you aware that you could be pressed for charges of breaking and entering?” 

“Sir,” Gavin said, trying his best to use a brown nosing voice that didn’t quite fit a single part of him or his personality. “I have a solid case for imminent destruction of evidence. If I hadn’t gone there when I did then that whole bag of red ice would have been in the hands of other criminals-”

“If you just hadn’t gone there at all one of our best officers wouldn’t have gotten injured. You simply wouldn’t have been in danger at all if you just stayed at Eden like you said you would. I told you yesterday that if you pulled another stunt, you were going to be off the case. Yes, you got me some good evidence and several suspects for dealers, but that doesn’t excuse this major fuck up.” 

Gavin bristled but tried to remain civil, “I never said that I was going to stay at the club, sir. I went to Mendoza’s house because I thought I could get a lead form doing so, and I did. What happened to Nines was my fault, I know that-”

“I can speak for myself, and my injury was my own fault.” Nines stepped closer to Fowlers desk, arms crossed. “I took a bullet for Gavin, and that was on my own accord. I do not regret it, nor do I-”

“Nines, I don’t care who’s fault it was for your wound. We’re lucky enough that Cyberlife offered to pay for your treatment. What I care about is who put you in that situation in the first place.” He turned his attention to the detective, “And that’s you, Reed.” 

“If Gavin is kicked off of the case then I would like to drop it as well.” 

Fowler’s scowl deepened, “No, we need you on that case. You’re the best investigative model ever made! You have to keep working-”

“I am Gavin’s partner, first and foremost. Whatever case is his is mine as well.” 

The captain pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a deep and upset breath, “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.” 

Fowler muttered under his breath, low and angry- a swear most likely- and leaned back in his chair. “Fine then. You two, if you have another fuck up then you both are off and I’ll just give the case to another team.” He waived them away flippantly, “Dismissed.”

Nines left out the large glass doors first and Gavin followed not long after. He was about to reach the safety of literally anywhere but the captain’s office when he heard a halting and gruff, “Reed, stay back a moment.”

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face Fowler, but not before catching Nines’ eyes and responding to a worried unasked question with a dismissive mute answer. He could hold his own with the big scary boss. He’d been doing so for years before the android came around, so he could handle an extra few minutes. 

Gavin marched to the center of the imposing desk. 

“The only reason you’re still on this case is because of your partner.”

Gavin swallowed, “I know that, sir.”

The captain seemed to mull over his words for a few beats. “Keep him safe, you got that? He’s a good officer.”

The detective’s throat felt dry and uncomfortable. “One of the best.”

Fowler sighed like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders and that statement almost seemed like it wasn’t all that far from the truth these days.“We’ve lost too many men in this drug crisis.” Then he cleared his throat, “Well, the lab has the toxicology reports back. You and Nines go there and check it out, see what you can see.” 

Gavin made a move to leave. 

“You stay safe too, Reed.” 

The detective gave him a curt nod before leaving. 

-

The new strain of Red Ice contained more hydrochloric acid and thirium than any previous batch that the lab had ever seen. 

The increased aggression was due to the thirium that messes with hormone balances, triggering vicious mood swings and violent outbursts. 

Meanwhile the nosebleeds were from the hydrochloric acid fucking melting parts of user’s flesh. Burning the lining of their upper esophagus if they were smokers. Eating the lining of their nose if they chose to snort the toxic mix. 

That would explain why the duo at Mendoza’s place sounded so rough. Why the man- Victor Price- had a sudden nose bleed. His body couldn’t fucking heal itself as whole parts dissolve like something from a bad horror movie. 

Gavin couldn’t help but shudder at the ominous report. It was no wonder why in the last month death rates in Detroit have been slowly going up. People were killing themselves slowly for a bit of fun and a several hour long high. 

This whole thing was fucked up. Working with drugs was always ugly and depressing and disheartening no matter what. There were always more users at the end of the day, always more people making and selling and buying and fueling the trade with whatever little money they had. 

Gavin huffed as he drove himself and Nines back to Eden. More questioning this time, but now they went before the place opened up. The detective would rather not ruffle any more feathers and both him and Nines agreed that it might be best if they lied low this evening. Two nights of trouble in a row, Gavin would rather not shoot for a third. Take a break while they could or something. 

The detective wandered into the club with Nines by his side. Today they were going to investigate together, maybe employ a little bit of the classic good cop bad cop. Maybe. 

Upon entrance Gavin practically ran into that janitorial android from before. Her name was Kate or Cathy or- 

“Cathrine!” Nines said, instantly employing his friendly face and voice. He glanced at Gavin briefly, like he was asking if she should have an interrogation. The detective nodded back, it couldn’t do any harm to be thorough. Afterall, she was one of the androids Gavin failed to talk to the previous night. 

“Would it be okay if we ask you a few questions really quick?” Nines continued, with more forced familiarity. 

“U-uh…” She squeaked, “You know, I don’t know all that much. I just clean. I don’t work the floor or anything like that…”

“That’s fine, just a few questions, miss. Won’t take long” Gavin said in a serious and vaguely menacing voice. He was god awful at the good cop gig so he was glad that Nines took that role quickly. 

“I…” She looked around the club like she was begging silently for someone to help. When no one came to her rescue she took a deep breath then nodded minutely as she clutched the mop she was holding close to her chest. However, she remained glued to the spot. 

Nines looked at her patiently. “It’ll only take five minutes, I promise.” 

She took a deep breath. “S-sure.” 

“Perfect.” Nines gave her a small smile and led her into a room where they could talk in relative quiet, away from the prying eyes of the other androids who worked at Eden. The android sat down on the plush bed nest to her, though he was a far enough distance to refrain from being any sort of threat to her. Meanwhile, Gavin stood with his arms crossed, pacing around the room slowly, like some sort of wild animal trapped in a cage. 

So far Cathrine looked comfortable with Nines and every once in a while she would eye Gavin nervously. In other words, it was going perfectly. 

“I’m gonna be blunt her Cath.” Gavin said suddenly after several beats of uncomfortable silence. “Do you know any regulars here who use red ice.”

She shook her head no. 

“Oh come on! You work here every night don’t you? You have to know someone who has shown signs. A nose bleed, ragged cough, hyper aggression-”

“That’s enough, Gavin.” Nines interjected. His voice stern yet not unreasonably so. God damn, the android was good at this. Nines turned to Cathrine, “If you remember anything you can talk to me alright? It’s okay.” 

“Well…” She stared at her feet now, “There was that man who… who um… he stormed in on you two when you were…”

Gavin snorted, “Don? Yeah, we already have that asshole behind bars. We need some new information Cath.”

Nines shot the detective another look that told him to stop. It was a gentle look compared to the real ones that the android liked to give Gavin. “Any info is good info. Is there anything else Cathrine? Anything else about Don even?” 

She shook her head adimatently, “No... no there’s nothing else.” 

“Are you sure, Cath?”

She glared at Gavin, “There’s n-nothing else!” 

“We’re talking about people’s live here and if you’re with holding information then you’re just helping the killers-”

“No, I’m not!” She shouted, LED spinning bright yellow. “I’m not helping them- I just- I just…” 

“You just what?” Nines pressed, reaching a hand out to grab hers. 

“Don’t touch me!” Cathrine screamed then launched out out the bed so fast that her back hit the wall behind her with a definite thud. 

Gavin backed towards the door, blocking her exit slowly. This girl knew something, and it was something seriously fucked up by the looks of it. 

At the same time Nines crept forward towards her. She pinned her self up against a wall and she still held her mop, swinging it from side to side like a club in warning. 

“Cathrine, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Just tell me what’s wrong.” Nines spoke softly to her as he made his way ever forward. He made sure to stay out of the handle’s arc. He likely wouldn’t get damaged by such a small object but it was better safe than sorry. 

“J-just go away! I can’t- can’t- you won’t know! I’m not going to tell you! I’m not going to tell you!” Her LED was circling in a consistent pulsing red. Her stress level had to be extremely high right now. 

Gavin closed the door, hoping that the barricade, a long with himself, could by some time if she somehow got past Nines. 

“Cathrine, you don’t want people getting hurt right? We can help you if you just tell us.” She stilled the swing of her makeshift weapon and Nines moved closer and grabbed at the mop. “We can move you into your own home and you-”

“I don’t want to leave! I don’t want to leave him, you can’t make me, you can’t!” She suddenly tugged back on the handle but she was unable to get it out of Nines’ iron grip. 

She kept struggling and tugging but the bigger android was a lot stronger. Designed for combat while she was made to look pretty and calming. It was a fairly one sided tug-of-war. Eventually Nines yanked the mop out of her hands then grabbed onto her exposed wrist. She tried desperately to thrash away but again it was to no avail. 

Her synthetic skin melted away where he held on. Nines had his eyes closed for all of three seconds then he shoved her off, his eyes wide and scared. “How could you?” The question came off as nothing more than a shocked whisper against his obviously panicked breaths. 

She shrank to a puddle on the floor, sobbing, cradling herself. “I didn’t mean to, but there was no choice. I had no choice. There was no choice-”

Nines walked around, hand running through his now messy hair, “Yes there was! You could have told them not to go, you could have told us- the police sooner-”

She shook her head quickly, “You saw him, didn’t you? I can’t just- just leave him here!”

“He’s gone, Cathrine!”

“Y-you can’t say that!” She hiccuped, “He’s not gone, he’s still here and he still loves me! I know he does.”

“He loved you so much, Cathrine. But he’s not here anymore and do you think that what you’re doing is what he would have wanted?”

“It’s my only choice.” She muttered in a vindictive whisper. 

Gavin heard scuffling behind the door. So did Nines. “Cathrine, we have to go- we have to go now.” His voice was nothing more than a stage whisper now. The fear in the android’s voice caused cold panic to spike through Gavin’s stomach. 

She shook her head and refused to get up from where she lay on the floor.

“Cathrine, they’ll kill you, please. Please get up.” 

Nines made a move to pick her up but she recoiled from his open arms. “If you touch me I’ll call her here right now.” Her eyes were fueled with fire. She meant what she said. 

Nines swallowed, “Are you sure? Cathrine, she’ll-”

She gave him a pitiful sort of smile. “If I’m with him I’ll be okay.” 

His eyebrows lowered in sympathy then, without another word, he walked towards Gavin. “We need to get out, now.” 

“What…” Gavin trailed off looking at the woman still shaking on the floor. 

“I’ll explain in the car.”

The pair both rushed out of the club as inconspicuously as they could. By some stroke of luck, no one was outside of the small room. 

They ran together in the warm afternoon air. Gavin had parked several blocks away from the club to not draw attention as it would have been the only car in an otherwise vacant parking lot. 

He could finally spot his car when Nines said, “It’s Topaz.” His voice was perfect and completely unaffected from his jogging. 

“What?” The detective asked breathlessly, too much information bouncing around in his head. 

“She’s the one threatening to kill Cathrine.” Nines spoke fast, unloading everything he learned as quickly as he could, “She’s the one who killed Hugo. She’s been selling androids off for thirium and Cathrine helped because she thinks Hugo can be repaired. He can’t be, his damage was so, so bad, there was no way-”

“I thought you scanned Topaz?” Gavin went to a walk, he was so close to his car now. 

“I did, but her memories must be encrypted or edited… I should have seen something though, I should have-”

“Nines, it’s okay. Call Fowler, tell him about this shit. We can get people down here and they can see Cathrine's memories-”

“Topaz said she would kill her if she said anything. I- I don’t know if she’s going to be there once we get help.Statistically it’s not impossible, nothing is ever impossible. But it’s so improbable…”

“Nines, listen to me. It’s going to be alright.” He stopped walking and grabbed Nines’ large hand with his smaller one. He looked up at the pale gray eyes, “You did good. You did an amazing job and it’s going to be okay.”

Awe and fear, guilt and despair, hope and thankfulness all flashed across the androids face almost faster then Gavin could read the expressions. “Gavin, don’t hate me…”

“What why would I-”

Nines leaned down, cupped Gavin’s jaw with his free hand, and kissed the detective. It was sweet and chaste and far too quick for Gavin’s liking. 

Nines pulled away with nothing but honest fondness on his face, “Gavin Reed, I think I like you a lot and I just wanted you to know that in case something ever happens to me.” 

The detective didn’t wait a moment longer then tugged the giant into kissing range by his tie. “I think I like you too, tin can.” Then Gavin did his best to show Nines what a real kiss was supposed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE IDIOTS FINALLY DID IT FOR REALS IM SO PROUD
> 
> (Btw Topaz is but a small part of the drug cartel ;3c there is plenty more to come kids)


	5. I Like You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry that it took me this long to give you guys chapter five. First depression came at my ass with a crowbar and made me think everything I wrote was total garbage, which is just rude, ya know? Very rude >:0 And then school has started for me, meaning I have to do things besides write fanfic all day (which makes me sad, cuz this is normally what I wanna do fam). But you know what? I got this chapter done, and it's a bit short, but that's okay! UwU enjoy~
> 
> ALSO, SURPRISE, THIS IS FROM NINES' POV >:3

‘MISSION FAILED’

That’s what kept flashing, brilliant red and inscessent in his vision, as he stared down at the dead body of Cathrine. Suicide. Memory core internally heated, melted into oblivion, completely unusable for data collection. 

Useless. 

Nines mentally shook himself. She had life and all life has value, she is not useless because he cannot harvest data from the poor dead girl. 

It was his fault that she died. Really it was. He knew it was. If he had just let her be, had not forced her to divulge her memory, she would still be alive and maybe Topaz would still be here, instead of somewhere untraceable in the city of Detroit. She was gone and that was his fault too. He should have been able to see something in her memory. Sensed something from their connection, but he failed. 

Failed. Failed. Failed. 

The feeling of failure was not something he was accustomed to. To a human that statement may sound pretentious. To an android it was just a simple fact. He was designed to be perfect and flawless and all the things a human being simply could not be. 

And yet he was a deviant. And are not deviant’s also human in a way? To be human is to err or whatever it is that creatures of sentience liked to say to themselves in order to feel less… what would Gavin say? Less like shit? That seemed right. Nines ran a quick check of his records of the detectives rather crude vernacular. Yes, it was the correct terminology. 

So he felt like shit. 

Nines glanced at Gavin who was busy talking to androids who had been around when Topaz had fled the scene. The detective’s eyebrows were furrowed, lowered over his steely blue eyes, and it was a good look for the man. Serious and formidable and stunning and handsome and a thousand other adjectives that flooded his system in analysis of… well of the detective, his partner, his roommate now…. And maybe something more? Boyfriend, that was the next logical step. The thought forced his theirium pump to take an odd sort of stutter-step. He ran a diagnostics check as he simultaneously googled his symptoms.

Affection. Or love, perhaps. 

That’s what he was feeling if the internet were to be trusted. That answer kept popping up everytime he did his analysis- he’d done it four-hundred and thirteen times as of right now. And yet he kept running the same check every single time.

He discovered that he rather liked that answer. 

He rather liked Gavin, so it was honestly very fitting. He liked the way the man would crookedly smile, the way his nose wasn’t exactly on straight, the proud arch of his back, the puff of his chest, his sauntering gait, his sense of humor, his arrogance- though that could be aggravating at times- his love of the stars, the way he snored softly in his sleep, the way his temper sometimes got the best of him despite knowing better, how he sometimes would arm wrestle Tina for the last donut at work, the way his eyes lit up when Nines brought him coffee, the sound of his laugh when it was light and real, the way he wore his leather jacket, the way he said thank you softly like he didn’t want anyone else to know he was capable of feeling gratitude, the way his lips tasted, the way he had to stand on his tiptoes to reach in for a kiss, the way his head felt on Nine’s shoulder… 

He liked how devastatingly human the man was. Imperfect and broken and scarred and wonderful and amazing. 

He liked the detective, and at this moment, Nines would very much like to be out of this awful club so he could kiss Gavin again. 

He liked what Gavin made him feel. 

He did not like how the body in front of him made him feel. 

Google said that the emotion was guilt. He only searched for the answer the one time. 

Cathrine loved too. That is what he thought to himself, and for a moment he was surprised that his mind had wandered to that thought in particular. She had loved. And Nines had only been given snippets of her life with the android named Hugo, and it was nice. Sweet. Safe and warm. And he died and she refused to believe that so she tried to bring back what was no longer there.

Nines found that he would feel the same way if something ever happened to Gavin. 

And somehow that thought made him feel even worse. 

Shittier.

-

As soon as Gavin closed the door to their apartment, Nines pushed the detective into the wall and kissed him, deeply and passionately just like Gavin showed him in that abandoned parking lot. Caging the mans smaller body with his arms, one knee pressed between the detective’s thighs. 

Nines felt like he had become much better at this kissing business, what with the way Gavin let out a surprised half moan as the android bit his bottom lip playfully. Nines pressed more kisses to the detective’s lips, softer and quicker this time because he just could not help himself, and he could feel the grin creeping across Gavin’s face. 

“Someone’s excited,” The detective huffed, voice light and happy as the android kissed along his strong jawline. 

Nines found himself pulling back, only a little bit, just so he could see Gavin’s face- he really was so gorgeous when he smiled. Now it was even better because the detective’s pupils were dilated slightly, cheeks flushed in a light dusting of pink, hair lightly fluffed where the back of his head pressed up against the wall. “I can’t help it,” he pressed in for another light kiss. “You’re just so” -kiss- “handsome” -kiss. 

Gavin’s blush turned into a much darker shade of pink, almost red really. It was pretty, Nines liked the color on the detective. He wondered if it would spread down the man's chest, maybe further… 

Only one way to find out.

Nines picked up Gavin in one deft move, then walked towards the bedroom. He enjoyed the little squeak of surprise that left the detective’s lips, the way he wrapped his arms around the android’s neck as if Nines might not actually be strong enough, might let him fall. Nines would never drop the detective. Never ever. 

He placed Gavin on his bed, an old springy thing that should definitely be replaced soon. This was not good for the man’s lumbar. Nines put that on a tiny to do list that kept growing with tasks to make Gavin more comfortable in his already fairly cozy home. Then he closed the list because he did not want anything else in his vision besides Gavin. Gavin who was panting now, arching his back up to meet Nines’ hips as the android straddled him, almost a weak parody of what happened earlier this week. Though Nines liked this much much more. 

Nines leaned down, catching Gavin’s mouth with his as he ground down on the already hardening dick beneath him. He carded his hands though the detective’s soft hair, moaning with the way it felt against the sensitive tips of his fingers. It was so nice he did it again and again and again, deepening the kiss each time, tongue swiping the roof of Gavin’s mouth, analyzing his arousal and heart rate and breaths. 

The detective shoved his hands up Nines’ shirt, pulling the thing up and over the androids head. “Holy shit, tin can…” 

Gavin’s pupils were even more blown now and he was even harder beneath Nines. The android smiled fondly at him, “You’ve seen me shirtless before, meat sack.” 

The detective rolled his eyes with a wide grin as he leaned up to loop two arms around Nines’ neck, dragging him down for more kisses, “Yeah, but you’re mine now.” He kissed down the android’s neck and to Nines the sensation was odd and strange and perfect, so perfect. “Mine.” Gavin bit down softly at the skin between Nines’ neck and shoulder, only just barely hard enough to bruise a human, so it would only last half an hour and the android couldn’t help but lament the loss of marks. 

Nines tugged on Gavin’s short hair and kissed him even harder. “Yours.” His voice was hushed, like he was breathless despite his lack of a need the breathe. The detective was blushing that beautiful dark color again and Nines took this opportunity to take his shirt off. To his delight, Gavin’s chest was also slightly flushed. 

Gavin took several deep panting breaths, “You sure you wanna do this Nines?”

Nines stilled, “Don’t you?”

“Fuck yeah I do! I just…” The detective stalled for a second, biting his lip and looking away towards something off the bed- it was quite adorable. “I don’t wanna rush ya, that’s all.”

Nines chuckled, “You’re not, I wanted to do this for a while.”

That wonderful color spread further across Gavin’s chest. “Seriously?”

“Of course.” Nines purred as he scooted down on the bed so he could kiss the top of Gavin’s strong chest, making his way down, kissing every small scar he came across, gave reverent attention to a bullet wound just above his iliac crest, a little ways below his ribs. Nines would need to ask questions about that later, he made a small note, the brought himself even further down. Further, until he had to take a step off of the short bed and kneel on the floor. The detective followed like a man possessed and swung his legs off the mattress. 

Gavin’s beautiful blue eyes were almost engulfed with black as Nines tugged his pants and boxers off. Curved up, dripping precome, and beautiful just like the rest of the man it belonged to, Nines licked his lips, mostly because he knew he had over a ninety percent chance of eliciting a positive reaction from the detective. Gavin’s dick gave a small twitch, ‘MISSION SUCCESSFUL’.

“You know how I told you I downloaded several new programs for the mission?” Nines flicked his eyes up to meet Gavin’s, the detective’s heart rate sped up further and he nodded completely tongue-tied at the moment. “Want me to show you one?” He was teasing the poor man, but Gavin didn’t seem to mind, not one bit. He nodded his head again. 

Nines could not help but smile again. He kissed the tip and Gavin groaned, it was an almost pleading thing, so the android though it would be best to finally do what the detective so obviously wanted. 

He licked a stripe from the base to the tip then took it into his mouth, hollowing out his cheeks and going slow at first before slinking down until he had the whole thing. Gavin’s panting was harsher, intermixed with a beautiful litany of soft moans and whining breaths. “Holy fuck, Nines!” His voice was awed but also shocked, his whole dick was in Nines’ throat, it was a completely understandable response. 

Nines raised his eyes again, and he greatly enjoyed the sight. He pulled back slightly then went forwards, watching Gavin’s eyes flicker closed, mouth opened slightly. Gavin brought his hands up to grab a hold of Nines’ hair and tugged, trying desperately to set a pace and the android let him. At least for a little bit. 

All the detective could manage to say was pulled right from that crude little vocabulary that Nines had grown to love, and when it was tangled with the androids own name… well that was just perfect. 

Gavin’s thrust became harder, quicker, less evenly paced, he was close. 

So Nines decided to help this along just a little bit quicker. 

Gavin just about screamed when Nines’ throat started vibrating around him, the stimulation pushing him just over that edge and he came with a shout. 

God help the man, he felt spent then Nines tugged off, having swallowed damn near all of it, then licked what little white had dripped from his lips, and the detective felt his dick give a little hopeful twitch. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart, and Nines smiled at the attempt, made almost cuter when it did nothing to help the detective. 

Nines climbed back onto the bed and his smile just widened as Gavin kissed him. The detective snaked his arm down to Nines’ waist and palmed at the android’s crotch, then tugged at the black suit pants roughly. 

Nines pushed him away lightly, aware that now his cheeks had taken on their own blush now. “Umm… about that… I had a lapse in judgement.” 

Gavin kissed his cheek before pulling away, “What the hell does that mean?” His voice was lighthearted with a slight edge of worry. 

Nines slid his pants down off of his hips because this would just be easier if Gavin saw what was up. 

“Oh,” That’s all the detective said, staring dumbstruck at the currently blank space between the android’s hips. 

“My model wasn’t designed for intercourse and I got the part when I was working in the rooms of Eden, but after you wanted me just working the floor I got the part taken off… I thought it was unnecessary at the time.” 

Nines felt weird because he knew that this sort of thing was really really weird to humans, and sure Gavin knew full well that Nines was an android, but this might just push that envelope a little bit too far-

His little crisis was interrupted by the sound of Gavin’s bubbling laugh, “Yeah, that was a lapse in judgement definitely! Oh my god this is crazy.” His voice was cheerful and lighthearted, just amused by the ridiculousness of the entire situation. “I would have never thought I’d need to worry about my boyfriend’s dick falling off.”

Nines’ smile from before, when he was relieved that everything was okay, grew even wider at that little boyfriend remark, said so casually like Gavin wasn’t even fully aware that he’d said it at all. Nines shoved the detectives shoulder, “It didn’t fall off! There’s a process that one must go through, it’s very scientific, I’ll have you know.”

“Fancy words for having your dick fall off,” Gavin scoffed, still giggling slightly. He settled himself down somewhat and then raised an eyebrow at Nines, “So how are we gonna do this? I’m not just gonna get a great blowjob then give nothing in return.”

“Well…” Nines rubbed the back of his neck, “There is something, it’s kind of weird though.”

“I can deal with weird, babe. Hit me.” 

Again, this was something that was better shown than explained, so Nines brought a hand up to the back of his neck, let the skin melt away there, and popped open a little switch revealing the cords that made up his central nervous system. 

Nines took Gavin’s hand in his own and placed it on his shoulder. The detective’s expression was surprised and intrigued, not weirded or grossed out so that was good. “So… you just want me to fiddle with your wires? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Not at all.” Probably not, that was. It will be fine. The internet has yet to lead Nines astray. “You just need to-” His words turned to a rough moan, turning to static on the end as Gavin dragged his fingernails across the largest wire. 

He leaned against Gavin curling into him as the detective repeated the same move again, making Nines shiver and feel hot and cold and wonderful and alive. So alive. 

Nines leaned up to kiss Gavin again, the movement causing the man’s fingers to brush deeper into the androids neck. He couldn’t breathe, he didn’t need to, but right now he couldn’t. He held onto Gavin as the detective kept murmuring sweet nothings into his ear, warm breath ghosting over his skin. Nails caught a wire even deeper, and Nines couldn’t help the moan that came out, all static and bliss and awful and splendid. 

His fingers curled into Gavin’s hair, the pads in his fingertips even more sensitive now. Analyzing everything in their path, gather data nonstop, and everything was Gavin, Gavin, Gavin, Gavin, Gavin-

With his free hand, the detective grabbed hold of the hand carding itself though his hair and tugged it towards his mouth, sucking on the fingers roughly, curling his tongue around them in a way that had Nines’ vision whiting out. It was too much, too much, so much it was wonderful and-

He came with a terribly robotic shout of Gavin’s name. The detective caught him with strong arms and held him there until Nines’ reboot was fully finished. 

“You good?” Gavin looked a bit concerned. 

Nines gave him a lopsided grin, all systems still not fully back online. “I’m great,” He slurred before knocking Gavin down for more kisses, legs tangled together on the bed that still needed to be replaced, but Nines didn’t care. All he cared about was the way Gavin’s lips pressed against his still flushed cheeks. The way the detective’s hair was beautifully wild. The way the man blushed when Nines said, “I like you a whole lot, detective.” 

“I like you too.” Gavin pressed a kiss to his forehead and it was wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *idiot elementary student voice* NinES liKES GavINNNNN~ NineeeSSS liiKKESSS GaaaViiiNNN~
> 
> UMMM HELLO OKAY, so this was my first time writing smut and I would really appreciate feedback??? Please??? Was it okay? Was it just a cringe fest? 
> 
> I really need to know, I'm gonna die h elP


End file.
